April 20, 1962
BOOKREVIEWS
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scopic identification is not yet positive. The theoretical This is an excellent book in concept and organization. The typography and design are also sound. For many prediction and the experimental verification of the properyears this should be a standard reference work which will ties of HOn is currently a very important research problem. The rest of the book is devoted to combustion phenomena. demand the publication of supplements or an occasional The authors are to be complimented on describing and disrevision. There is no doubt that this is a monumental handbook. It gathers into one volume the present informa- cussing the scientific problems without getting entangled tion about these metabolites from fungi, actinomycetes in the myriads of engineering detail. As the title indicates, and bacteria, including, necessarily, the antibiotics. Pre- the treatise is limited to gaseous phenomena and no mention viously this material was disseminated through reviews, is made of solid propellants. texts, short monographs and the original papers. OF WISCONSIN The references by intent are not exhaustive, but a good UNIVERSITY CHEMISTRY LABORaTORY selection of pertinent references has been made. The THEORETICAL WISCONSIN JOSEPH 0. HIRSCHFELDER chapter on General References extensively supplements MADISON, the particular references with reviews, books and papers. It would be unbelievable if a work of this extent had no errors nor omissions. As the prerogative of a review a Physical Methods in Chemical Analysis. Volume IV. few corrections may be pointed out. Byssochlamic acid, Edited by WALTERG. BERL, Applied Physics Laboraa product from Byssochlamys fulva, isolated by H. Raistrick tory, Johns Hopkins University, Silver Spring, Maryland. and G. Smith (Biochem. J . , 27, 1814 [1933]), could not be Academic Press I n c , 111 Fifth Avenue, New York 3, found although other compounds of similar indefinite strucS. Y. 1961. xi 4- 476 pp. 16 23.5 cm. Price, ture are included. On page 68, in the first reference under $16.00. spiculisporic acid, the name should be Rintoul, not Pintoul. This volume deals exclusively with separation methods The Addendum contains a large amount of valuable material, but loses much of its usefulness since there is no based on the use of dialysis (38 pp.), molecular sieves (50 index. Much of the material is presented as a flow of, pp.), foams (17 pp.), electromagnetic properties (92 pp.), sometimes disconnected, sentences and notes. This makes ion exchange (84 pp.), inclusion compounds (39 pp.), therthe chapter a veritable wastebasket of notes. It should mal diffusion (45 pp.) and solvent extraction (136 pp.). have been well if this Addendum had more clearly followed The general outline followed by each author in writing his chapter was a review of the theory and derivation of equathe style of the other chapters. In spite of these minor complaints, the reviewer feels that tions, practical aspects of the technique together with a this is a publication of great value to the chemist and micro- presentation of applications in analytical chemistry and a biologist. The price is moderate in light of the extensive bibliography of the more recent literature. The first chapter and the last four each have extensive bibliographies. The and, generally, well organized information contained. Dr. Miller and The Pfizer Company are to be compli- last chapter includes much useful data in 23 tables. mented. DEPARTMENT O F CHEMISTRY PURDUE UNIVERSITY THOS.DE YRIES BIOCHEMISTRY RESEARCH INDIANA HERBERT C. MURRAY LAFAYETTE, THEUPJOHNCOMPANY KALAMAZOO, MICHIGaN
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Combustion, Flames and Explosions of Gases. Second Edition. By BERNARD LEWIS, Ph.D., Sc D. (Cantab.) VON ELBE, Ph.D. (Berlin), Combustion and GUENTHER dnd Explosives Research, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A4cademicPress Inc., 111 Fifth Avenue, New Uork 3, S. Y. 1961. xix 731 pp. 16 X 23.5 cm. Price, 82.00.
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Lewis and von Elbe are the grand-daddies of combustion research. Their pre-World War I1 research and their 1938 treatise (Cambridge Press, same title) served as the basis for most of our present experimental and theoretical efforts. From the very beginning, Lewis and von Elbe recognized the importance of thermodynamics and reaction kinetics in interpreting flame phenomena. Thus, any book written by these eminent authors is bound to command the interest of all serious workers in the combustion field. However, the new Second Edition is really very similar to the First Edition. The additions and changes appear to be very minor, although there have been great advances in the fields of combustion and detonations since the First Edition was published in 1951. This book describes a great variety of flame and explosion phenomena and tries to explain them in a semi-quantitative fashion. The modern highly mathematical theories of flames and detonations are ignored. The treatment of detonations is very incomplete and omits any mention of the brilliant post-war research a t Los Alamos. And, quite excusably, it omits the very recent work of Donald White (Phys. Fluids, 4,465 (1961)) which probably was not available to the authors before the Second Edition went to press. White demonstrated experimentally that the reaction zone in a gaseous detonation is frequently not laminar. This work has subsequently been confirmed by other workers and has led to considerable changes in our notions regarding the structure of gaseous detonations. The first 200 pages of the Second Edition are devoted to t h e chemical kinetics of reactions between gaseous fuels and midants. The complexity of the various chain reactions required to explain the experimental combustion limits and flame phenomena is most impressive. I t is surprising that the key free-radical in the combustion process, HO?, has i i e b er becn observed spectroscopically aud its mass spectro-
Carbon-14 Compounds. By JOHK R. CATCH,The Radiochemical Centre. Amersham. Bucks.. England. Butterworth Inc., 7235 Wisconsin Avenue, JGashington 14, 128 pp. 14 X 22 cm. Price, $5.50. D.C. 1961. vii
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The scope of this book is not apparent from the title; quoting the author this book is “not a practical text book” nor is it a “comprehensive index” or description of carbon-14 preparations. Rather is it a philosophical treatment of thc entire field of carbon-14 chemistry. The book is intended for the newcomer to help him benefit from the experience of those who have preceded him. The book is divided into 8 chapters: (1) Introduction, (2) Production of Carbon-14, (3) Chemical Synthesis, (4) Biological Methods of Labeling, (5) Peculiar Features of Carbon-14 Compounds, (6) Analysis, (7) Measurement of Carbon-14, (8) Precautions in the Use of Carbon-14 Coinpounds. In the introduction the author lists the books and bibIiographies in the field. The chapter is replete with kindly advice and warns against some common errors in research with radioactive isotopes. Chapter 2 is of academic interest only and outlines the reactions used for the production of carbon-14. His remarks concerning “recoil labeling” and the difficulty of purification of highly impure complex compounds are timely. The difficulties encountered in the preparation of complex organic compounds starting from carbonate-C-14 are covered in chapter 3. The principles governing the selection of a synthesis, the use of “carriers,” explanation of elementary procedures and equipment (which differs somewhat from American practice) are all covered in this chapter, which is one of the best in the book. The chapter covering biological labeling, chapter 4, is a “must” for anyone entering this field of research. The author has given an excellent review of the methods and organisms used to prepare compounds through biologic labeling. The reviewer was surprised a t the efficiency with which some organisms can incorporate carbon-14 into complex organic compounds. This is not true of most of the organisms studied and clearly shows this to be a fertile field for research. The difficulties and disadvantages of the method are clearly explained. Isotope effect, auto-radiation, isoiiierisin arid nornenclnture are well covered in chapter 5 .
